Kate McCann: Families with missing children are left in dark
By Phil ScullionFollow @PhilScullion
Families of missing people are put in the "unbearable position" of being "left in the dark", Kate McCann told MPs today.
Speaking at a Commons committee Ms McCann called for MPs to set up a single point of contact between police and families.
The committee is the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the rights of families with missing people, and is being chaired by Labour MP Ann Coffey.
Earlier on in the day Ms McCann spoke on the steps of parliament, where she was flanked by two other mothers of missing children, Nicki Durbin and Sarah Godwin.
She said: "There is currently no legislation to protect missing people and their families left behind.
"If your house is burgled you are automatically offered victim support with emotional, practical and legal assistance. If your child goes missing you may get nothing."
Nicki Durbin's son, Luke, was 19 when he went missing following a night out in Ipswich five years ago. Sarah Godwin's son Quentin was 18 and disappeared in New Zealand on his way to an after-school job in 1992.
The three women held up photos of their missing children, and Ms McCann spoke out about the "unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt and worry" they had all suffered.
She added: "In addition to the reassurance that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one, families need support. And they should be spared the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy."
Ms McCann's daughter Madeleine was three when she went missing from the family's holiday flat in the Algarve.
During the inquiry itself Ms McCann spoke about how she "could not function" with Madeleine missing and it was the first time in her life when she felt "out of control".
Ms Durbin told MPs of her fear when she heard on the local news about the discovery of a decapitated body and insisted that a point of contact between families and the police was vital in such situations.
